The role of edible insects to mitigate challenges for sustainability

Guiné, Raquel; Correia, Paula; Coelho, Catarina; Costa, Cristina Amaro da

doi:10.1515/opag-2020-0206

Cited by 73 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…One of the possible approaches to this problem is to focus on the food production by means of new innovative technologies. Additionally, it must also be given high attention to agricultural practices, which still depend strongly on fossil fuels [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edible Insects: Preliminary Study about Perceptions, Attitudes, and Knowledge on a Sample of Portuguese Citizens

Florença

Correia

Costa

et al. 2021

Foods

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This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, consumption habits, and degree of acceptability of edible insects (EI) or derived products among Portuguese consumers. This work consisted of a questionnaire survey, undertaken on a sample of 213 participants. For the treatment of data, basic descriptive statistics were used, complemented with chi-square tests to assess some associations between categorical variables. Moreover, a tree classification analysis was carried out using a classification and regression tree (CRT) algorithm with cross-validation. The results indicated that people tend to have correct perceptions about the sustainability issues associated with the use of insects as alternative sources of protein; however, the level of knowledge and overall perception about their nutritive value is low. Regarding the consumption of EI, it was found that only a small part of the participants had already eaten them, doing it mostly abroad, by self-initiative, in a restaurant or at a party or event. Additionally, it was found that the reluctance to consume insects is higher if they are whole, but when they are transformed into ingredients used in food formulations, the level of acceptance increases. Furthermore, men have shown to have a better perception about EI, be more informed about sustainability, and have a higher level of acceptability when compared to women. As a final conclusion, it was observed that the Portuguese still show some resistance to adhere to the use of insects as replacements for meat products, but the market of insect based products can be a good alternative to overpass the neophobia associated with this type of food.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edible Insects: Preliminary Study about Perceptions, Attitudes, and Knowledge on a Sample of Portuguese Citizens

Florença

Correia

Costa

et al. 2021

Foods

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…Knowing that the world population is estimated to be nearly 10 billion by the year 2050, the food supply demand will raise by 70% [3]. This immense growth of the human population poses a significant number of challenges, related with many different aspects that go from the food supply chain until the global public health [4]. These challenges include efficient food production, availability of foods at global level, responsible use of land and water, efficient management of natural resources, minimization of environmental impacts, maximization of nutritive value of foods and, finally, management of the use of chemical residues and harmful substances (such as pesticides, for example) with impact on the natural ecosystems and human health [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Issues as Drivers for Food Choice: Study from a Multinational Framework

et al. 2021

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This work intended to explore some motivations that influence people’s eating habits towards sustainability. This was an observational, cross-sectional study, carried out by questionnaire survey on a non-probabilistic sample of 10,067 participants from 13 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania and United States). Results indicated that people prefer fresh local foods from the season, being important because it allows transportation and storage to be reduced, which in many cases implies refrigeration systems and consequent energy expenditure. Although people avoid food waste at home, the awareness for the waste at restaurants still needs to be improved. Consumers seem to prefer foods that have been produced and packed in sustainable ways but still give importance to the package—understandable for food products. The results also indicated significant differences in the food choice motivations between groups for all sociodemographic variables tested (age, sex, marital status, education, professional area, living environment and country), but the association was high only for variable country. Additionally, a tree classification analysis allowed to identify the relative importance of the influential variables on the sustainable food choices, with country being the most important, followed by age and sex. Additionally, discriminant function analysis allowed establishing a model for the relation between country and six variables accounting for preservation of biodiversity, respect for life, save natural resources, save energy, reduce industrial pollution and minimal packaging. Although with some limitations, this study brings valuable insight into some aspects linked with sustainable food choices on a number of countries and how people shape their food choices according to some sustainability issues.

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“…A large part of the population of Western countries is currently reluctant to eat edible insects due to psychological and cultural barriers. For this reason, it is preferred to incorporate insects into food as ingredients (such as flour, oils and protein extracts) to remove them from the consumer's sight (Guiné et al 2021). The manufacture of insect-based products must preserve their nutritional quality, food safety and shelf life.…”

Section: Critical Aspects Of Plastic Biodegradation and Pha Recovery Through Tmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tenebrio molitor in the circular economy: a novel approach for plastic valorisation and PHA biological recovery

Sangiorgio

Verardi

Dimatteo

et al. 2021

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The increase in the world population leads to rising demand and consumption of plastic raw materials; only a small percentage of plastics is recovered and recycled, increasing the quantity of waste released into the environment and losing its economic value. The plastics represent a great opportunity in the circular perspective of their reuse and recycling. Research is moving, on the one hand, to implement sustainable systems for plastic waste management and on the other to find new non-fossil-based plastics such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). In this review, we focus our attention on Tenebrio molitor (TM) as a valuable solution for plastic biodegradation and biological recovery of new biopolymers (e.g. PHA) from plastic-producing microorganisms, exploiting its highly diversified gut microbiota. TM’s use for plastic pollution management is controversial. However, TM microbiota is recognised as a source of plastic-degrading microorganisms. TM-based plastic degradation is improved by co-feeding with food loss and waste as a dietary energy source, thus valorising these low-value substrates in a circular economy perspective. TM as a bioreactor is a valid alternative to traditional PHA recovery systems with the advantage of obtaining, in addition to highly pure PHA, protein biomass and rearing waste from which to produce fertilisers, chitin/chitosan, biochar and biodiesel. Finally, we describe the critical aspects of these TM-based approaches, mainly related to TM mass production, eventual food safety problems, possible release of microplastics and lack of dedicated legislation.

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The role of edible insects to mitigate challenges for sustainability

Cited by 73 publications

References 72 publications

Edible Insects: Preliminary Study about Perceptions, Attitudes, and Knowledge on a Sample of Portuguese Citizens

Edible Insects: Preliminary Study about Perceptions, Attitudes, and Knowledge on a Sample of Portuguese Citizens

Environmental Issues as Drivers for Food Choice: Study from a Multinational Framework

Tenebrio molitor in the circular economy: a novel approach for plastic valorisation and PHA biological recovery

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